Getting past verbal reasoning and into belief
Greetings in the name of Jesus:
For the last several years now I have listened closely to people like Ray comfort concerning the open air preaching, and I take note that one must get to a certain place in their belief of Christ before they are brave enough to publicly be judged by the world around them about the relationship with God.
There are many different ways that we can go about developing that kind of deep faith, but rarely are we able to do that without first personally digging deeply into Scripture and proving Christ to be true in our personal lives. Paul seemed to always be doing open air preaching about Christ because he was always being put in a situation of having to prove his faith. ACTS 17:2 mentions that it was part of Paul's custom to go to the people, and in verse two he had spent three weeks reasoning with them out of the Scriptures about Christ. I think it is safe to say that for most of us the only way that we can convince others that Christ is a real is for him to be real to us first. To me that means we have to be real people when we go out into the world as Christians; we need to be people whose true identity can be found in the Scriptures we say we live by. Paul had to constantly deal with Old Testament prophecies for the Jews in order for them to see the truth that he was presenting about Jesus Christ. But in presenting Jesus to others they first had to see the change that Jesus himself had made in Paul's life. We know that it took many years of Paul's preaching, his love, and unity among the brothers and sisters for even the apostles to accept him; let alone those people to whom he had shown such persecution from the Sanhedrin in his earlier years.
For Paul it literally miracles happening through his life and ministry for most people to even listen to him. Unlike the normal Christian in the church today Paul found himself having to test the power of the spirit within him at almost every move he made. After Paul and Silas had prayed and had been delivered from the prison the jailer fell before them asking"what must I do to be saved"? The fact remains that for most of us we need to have Christ proven to our lives that he is real before he becomes real. There is a part of this that is created to know that God is, and that his power is true. In Psalms 119: 104- 105 it tells us"through your precepts I get understanding, therefore I hate every false way. Your word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path". That way of thinking does not automatically come to us, and when Paul and Silas began their travels to places like Berea and Thessalonica they had some success in that there were people who were noble of heart, and who received the word of God it is said with readiness of mind. Acts 17: 11 showed that they not only openly discussed and traded information and experiences but that these people search the Scriptures daily to find out whether the things that Paul preached were true.
I'm not so sure that Paul was the bravest of man as far as battle goes, but I do believe that he had been completely convinced in his heart that Christ was who he said he was to his life. When Paul waited for the people in Athens it is said that his spirit was stirred in him, and I believe the spirit that was stirred was that of the Holy Spirit who had taken legal control over Paul's body and mind. Paul's life and his ministry is but one example of what happens within someone who has been completely convinced in God through his personal trial and error.. The book of Acts 17: 22- 24 shows us the simplicity of asking the world around us a question. "Of all the ways that the world tries to find hope, peace, forgiveness, and love within themselves by trying to keep Christ out of the picture, how well has it worked? Paul found in Athens that they too had tried it every way imaginable, and had turned to every possible God they could think, and yet there was an altar with the inscription "TO THE UNKNOWN GOD", and so that's the one he proclaimed to them. We cannot give away something to someone else that we do not possess ourselves. May you richly bless God through your life in him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
For the last several years now I have listened closely to people like Ray comfort concerning the open air preaching, and I take note that one must get to a certain place in their belief of Christ before they are brave enough to publicly be judged by the world around them about the relationship with God.
There are many different ways that we can go about developing that kind of deep faith, but rarely are we able to do that without first personally digging deeply into Scripture and proving Christ to be true in our personal lives. Paul seemed to always be doing open air preaching about Christ because he was always being put in a situation of having to prove his faith. ACTS 17:2 mentions that it was part of Paul's custom to go to the people, and in verse two he had spent three weeks reasoning with them out of the Scriptures about Christ. I think it is safe to say that for most of us the only way that we can convince others that Christ is a real is for him to be real to us first. To me that means we have to be real people when we go out into the world as Christians; we need to be people whose true identity can be found in the Scriptures we say we live by. Paul had to constantly deal with Old Testament prophecies for the Jews in order for them to see the truth that he was presenting about Jesus Christ. But in presenting Jesus to others they first had to see the change that Jesus himself had made in Paul's life. We know that it took many years of Paul's preaching, his love, and unity among the brothers and sisters for even the apostles to accept him; let alone those people to whom he had shown such persecution from the Sanhedrin in his earlier years.
For Paul it literally miracles happening through his life and ministry for most people to even listen to him. Unlike the normal Christian in the church today Paul found himself having to test the power of the spirit within him at almost every move he made. After Paul and Silas had prayed and had been delivered from the prison the jailer fell before them asking"what must I do to be saved"? The fact remains that for most of us we need to have Christ proven to our lives that he is real before he becomes real. There is a part of this that is created to know that God is, and that his power is true. In Psalms 119: 104- 105 it tells us"through your precepts I get understanding, therefore I hate every false way. Your word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path". That way of thinking does not automatically come to us, and when Paul and Silas began their travels to places like Berea and Thessalonica they had some success in that there were people who were noble of heart, and who received the word of God it is said with readiness of mind. Acts 17: 11 showed that they not only openly discussed and traded information and experiences but that these people search the Scriptures daily to find out whether the things that Paul preached were true.
I'm not so sure that Paul was the bravest of man as far as battle goes, but I do believe that he had been completely convinced in his heart that Christ was who he said he was to his life. When Paul waited for the people in Athens it is said that his spirit was stirred in him, and I believe the spirit that was stirred was that of the Holy Spirit who had taken legal control over Paul's body and mind. Paul's life and his ministry is but one example of what happens within someone who has been completely convinced in God through his personal trial and error.. The book of Acts 17: 22- 24 shows us the simplicity of asking the world around us a question. "Of all the ways that the world tries to find hope, peace, forgiveness, and love within themselves by trying to keep Christ out of the picture, how well has it worked? Paul found in Athens that they too had tried it every way imaginable, and had turned to every possible God they could think, and yet there was an altar with the inscription "TO THE UNKNOWN GOD", and so that's the one he proclaimed to them. We cannot give away something to someone else that we do not possess ourselves. May you richly bless God through your life in him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
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